"WE LOVED EACH OTHER. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT." (Paul Hornung, former Packers Great, and a Football Legend)

The Lombardi trophy, given out to the winner of the Super Bowl, represents a legendary coach and time and a standard of excellence.  Having grown up in a Wisconsin household in the 1960’s, Lombardi and his teams were a source of tremendous pride in our state and the city of Green Bay, the smallest city in the National Football League.  Vince turned the Packers into winners and champions after dismal years that we thought we would never recover from.  He was a fascinating man in so many ways, and when the Lombardi trophy is hoisted high, regardless of who wins it, I always think of the legendary coach and hero.  I thought that if I wanted to know more about him and the trophy that bears his name, others surely would as well.

Vince Lombardi grew up in Brooklyn, a devout Catholic who played at Fordham University.  He was a member of the “Seven Blocks of Granite.”  He coached football in high school, college, and the pros.  He became an assistant at West Point and was eventually hired to be a Giants offensive assistant.  He wanted to become the New York Giants head coach, but when that didn’t happen, he accepted the Green Bay head coaching job offered to him in 1958.  In those days the team was terrible and in disarray.  Paul Hornung, the Packers halfback and future Hall of Famer said about that time, “Vince changed my life, and he came along at just the right time.  My first two years with the Packers were so unhappy and unsatisfactory that I was ready to quit and do something else.  I needed a sense of purpose and direction in my life to keep me from drifting, and that’s exactly what Lombardi gave me.”  He went on to say, “All of us who were touched by Lombardi were defined by him.  He taught us how to win, and the winning gave us an identity that each of us has carried through life.  After all these years, he still lives in the hearts of all of us.” 

During Lombardi’s time during the 60’s, the Packers won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls.  There was a definite mystique about Lombardi and his teams. Hornung said, “Because of Lombardi, our teams had a sense of closeness that enabled us to beat teams with more raw talent.  We loved each other.  It’s as simple as that.”  For many outsiders, Lombardi was the tough disciplinarian who wanted to win at any cost.  For those players and coaches who knew him best, that was an unfair assessment.  Vince was tough and harsh at times, but more than anything, he wanted his players to work harder than anyone, believe in themselves and their teammates, and pursue excellence.  As Willie Davis, an outstanding defensive lineman for the Packers once said, “He made me believe I could do anything.  I would have gone through hellfire for that man.” Jerry Kramer, the famous offensive guard for the Packers perhaps summed him up best when he said, “What they don’t know is that he was a very, very sensitive man. He could tear you apart, but he also had a knack of saying or doing just the right thing to bring you back up and make you believe you could be a lot better than you really were.”

After Lombardi’s second Super Bowl victory in 1967, he retired and became the Packers general manager.  But that didn’t last long—Lombardi missed coaching and took the Washington Redskins coaching job in 1969.  In just one year he was able to turn the Redskins around, but then he was diagnosed with cancer and died September 3, 1970 at the age of 57.  For the fans everywhere who revered him and the players who gave every ounce of effort for him, it seemed impossible that Lombardi, the giant, the legend was gone.  His son, Vince Jr. said, “Being a coach wasn’t enough for my dad.  He had to be a teacher.  He had to be a molder of men.”

Even though my team, the Packers were just eliminated from playoff contention, I will watch proudly as the Super Bowl winning team celebrates their achievement by holding high the most accomplished prize in American sports—the Lombardi trophy. I've included some of Vince Lombardi’s most famous and memorable quotes:

            “Football is like life—it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority.”

            “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

            “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can achieve excellence.”

            “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

            “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing.  You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing.”

            And just a few interesting facts about the Super Bowl itself.  Whatever team carries home that trophy will be able to display it permanently since a new one is made every year.  To this point, the top five teams with the most Super Bowl trophies are:  Pittsburgh Steelers 6, Dallas 5, San Francisco 5, Green Bay 4, and the New York Giants 4.  San Francisco has the best record in the Super Bowl—5 wins and 0 losses.